“Whereas sovereignty over the
entire universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone and the authority which He has
delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised
through their chosen representatives within the limits prescribed by Him is a
sacred trust; And whereas Islam is the State religion of Pakistan and it is the
obligation of the State to enable the Muslims of Pakistan, individually and
collectively, to order their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles
and basic concepts of Islam set out in the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah;

And whereas in order to
achieve the aforesaid objective and goal, it is expedient further to amend the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan; now therefore, it is hereby
enacted as follows:

1. Short title and
commencement - (1) This Act may be called the Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment)
Act, 1998 (2) it shall come into force at once.

2. Addition of new Article
2B in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereinafter referred
to as the said Constitution after Article 2A, the following new Article shall be
inserted, namely 2B Supremacy of the Qur'an and Sunnah (1) The Holy Qur'an and
Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) shall be the supreme law of
Pakistan.

Explanation: In the
application of this clause to the personal law of any Muslim the expression
"Qur'an and Sunnah" shall mean the Qur'an and Sunnah as interpreted by that
sect.

(2) The
Federal Government shall be under an obligation to take steps to enforce the
Shariah, to establish salat, to administrate zakat, to promote am bil ma'roof wa nahi anil munkar (to prescribe what is right and to
forbid what is wrong) to eradicate corruption at all levels and to provide substantial socio-economic justice, in accordance with the principles of Islam,
as laid down in the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah.

(3) The Federal Government
may issue directives for the implementation of the provisions set out in clauses
(1) and (2) and may take the necessary actions against any state functionary for
non-compliance of the said directives.

(4) Nothing contained in
this Article shall affect the personal law, religious freedom, traditions or
customs of non-Muslims and their status as citizens.

(5) The provisions of this
Article should have effect not withstanding anything contained in the
Constitution, any law or judgement of any Court."

• Pakistani Legal experts
condemn bill

Prominent legal experts
declared the Pakistan government's move to enforce the 15th Amendment an attempt
to alter the nature of the state.

Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan Chairperson Asma Jahangir, said the passage of the constitutional
amendment in this regard would mean that the fundamental rights of people were
at one's man discretion.

Jahangir said: "I have no
doubt in my mind that by undermining the supremacy of the Constitution and
independence of judiciary, an attempt is being made to establish a Talibanish
government headed by Mian Nawaz Sharif and overseen by President Rafiq
Tarar."

The
proposed amendment, by making judges the federal government functionaries, has
put the judiciary at the mercy of the government which will be able now to send
any judge packing, she said. "I can say with authority that, at least, four
judges of various high courts and two judges of the Supreme Court are
contemplating resignation if this bill goes through," she disclosed.

The amendment will destroy
the balance among federating units guaranteed through equal representation in
the Senate, the upper house of the Parliament, and will, therefore, revoke the
entire Constitution, Asma pointed out and added the passage of the amendment
would deal a blow to provincial autonomy and unleash a reign of terror in the
country in the name of Shariah.

She wondered how Nawaz
Sharif could emancipate people plagued by poverty, lawlessness and illiteracy by
imposing his own interpretation of Shariah. Nawaz Sharif has suddenly discovered
that he cannot tolerate crimes against women but, surprisingly, nowhere in the
bill presented in the National Assembly protection of women is guaranteed, she
observed. "In fact, after the passage of the bill, Pakistani women will be in
the hands of local Taliban," she said. (The News, 30-8-98)

The 15th Amendment Bill is
a recipe for social and political disaster. WAF urges political parties not to
let this move succeed. WAF especially calls upon nationalist progressive forces
all over Pakistan to play their role to prevent the dishonest Punjabi leadership
from injuring the interests of the whole country and to seriously address the
severe crisis facing the nation.

Women's Action
Forum

•
Women's rights activists quit government committees

On the call of Women's
Action Forum (WAF), women rights activists of various NGOs sitting in the
government committees on Beijing Platform for Action and implementation of CEDAW
resigned from these committees in protest against the proposed 15th
constitutional amendment.

They issued a joint
statement which stated that the introduction of the 15th amendment makes it
clear that the government was not serious towards its commitments to women's
rights and democratic processes. The involvement of women and women
organisations in committees regarding CEDAW and other commitments appeared to be
a mere formality that were being carried out only for the sake of avoiding
international embarrassment.

They said they were
convinced that the modified 15th amendment bill still threatened the basic
principles of the Constitution, the parliamentary process and the concepts of
the federation.

"It is clear that those in
the vanguard of pushing through the 15th amendment are the same
elements who supported the various so-called Islamisation measures
brought in by the dictator Zia-ul-Haq," they added. - (The News,
22-11-98)

•
Citizens rally against shariat bill

A large number of activists
from major opposition parties took part in an anti-Shariat bill rally organized
by the Joint Action Committee for People's Rights which comprises 35 NGOs and
human rights organizations.

A large number of women who
took part in the rally declared that the bill was aimed at usurping their basic
rights. Carrying placards and banners, the march raised slogans against the
prime minister, saying that he was introducing authoritarianism and fascism and
snatching the rights of women, minorities and provinces in the name of Islam. -
(Dawn, 16-10-98)

• Opposition vows to block
amendment

The Constitution (15th
Amendment) Bill 1998, after having been passed by the National Assembly, is sure
to be blocked in the Senate as the government is short of two-thirds majority,
despite winning over the votes of all parties except those constituting the
combined Opposition.

In the House of 87, the
government requires 58 votes to get the Bill passed. To be more precise and
exact in the number game in the Senate, the government still falls short of tow
votes even if Senator Shafqat is not included in the combined Opposition
camp.

The
results of the voting for and against the Bill in the National Assembly must
have been quite shocking for the government as except the FATA members and four
minority members, no other party favoured amendment in the Constitution. - (The
Nation, 11-10-98).